2026 Subaru Outback Problems, complaints & recalls

an improperly loaded trailer. I was forced to countersteer aggressively multiple times to regain control. The rear continued oscillating through several corrections before the vehicle finally stabilized. I have extensive experience driving different vehicles, including trucks, SUVs, and performance cars. I have never experienced this degree of instability from a modern vehicle during a comparable maneuver. I believe a less experienced driver could have lost control entirely, potentially resulting in a serious or fatal crash. Afterward, I discovered reports from other 2026 Subaru Outback owners describing similar rear-end instability, swaying, and fishtailing at highway speeds, particularly in windy conditions. I am concerned that the redesigned Outback may have a handling or directional-stability issue that warrants further investigation. IMPORTANT VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION NOTE: This was a dealership loaner, not my personal vehicle. The VIN associated with this report is a possible match identified through dealership inventory, but I cannot confirm that it belongs to the exact vehicle I drove. The correct VIN should be verified through Subaru of Port Richey's loaner records.

features, including Automatic Collision Notification and SOS Emergency Assistance. These services are designed to connect vehicle occupants with emergency assistance following a serious collision or other emergency, particularly when a driver is injured or unable to call for help. I am concerned that disabling these capabilities based solely on a customer's state of residence could create an unnecessary safety risk and delay emergency response. I understand this is a regulatory dispute, but I believe the safety implications deserve independent review. I am requesting that NHTSA investigate whether Subaru's deactivation of these services creates an unreasonable risk to vehicle occupants and determine whether corrective action is warranted. Vehicle occupants should not lose access to emergency-response capabilities because of a disagreement over state regulations. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

information during operation of the Hands-Free Assist system. This creates a safety concern because I cannot reliably see the intended visual indication of the driver-assistance system's status. I experienced a near-miss situation in which the absence of the expected blue visual indication contributed to confusion about the system's status. The problem has been repeatedly observed, including during a check conducted with dealership personnel. I have brought this nearly new vehicle to an authorized Subaru dealership twice for the same issue. Despite my specific report that the blue indicators do not illuminate, the dealership initially stated that the vehicle was operating as designed, relying in part on an assessment of Hands-Free Assist functionality rather than providing a documented diagnosis addressing the blue indicators themselves. The dealership subsequently agreed to arrange further inspection by its shop foreman after I escalated the concern to the manufacturer. However, I have not received a satisfactory technical explanation or confirmation that the blue indicators are functioning as specified. The vehicle remains available for inspection. I have videos and photographs documenting the indicator issue, as well as communications with the dealership and service records. I am concerned that the failure of these visual indicators could prevent drivers from recognizing important changes in driver-assistance system status. I request that NHTSA investiga

Advocacy Department, which opened an internal case (#[redacted]). Two pictures were attached to the report. I do not know, if the tire was subjected to any inspection by the dealership or the manufacturer. It was manufactured in [[redacted]]. The tire did not have Warranty from Subaru and I had to pay $241.02 for a new tire, incl. balance and mount. There were no symptoms or warnings prior to the event. It just exploded. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

CVT fighting brake system when trying to turn car at street corner. Would not stop until on straight away ( seems to be triggered when turning and car was hot and when no power applied to engine. Only stops on straight away.. Could be related to cvt torque converter? Software glitch? Force of turning wheel?

reason and unexpectedly, and the traffic behind me had to swerve into oncoming traffic to avoid colliding with me. With no automatic collision avoidance system, this situation would have NEVER occurred. In 45 years of driving I have never collided with anything in front of me and the closest to an accident I have been is due to the automatic "safety" system included in my new car. I am actively considering looking for a 10 year old replacement vehicle as these new safety systems appear to be VERY dangerous... So now I have a solution to a problem I have never had, and it has created problems I never expected and I have NO control over.

dealership. Since I need a rental car the dealership will notify me when a rental car is available. It scared the hell out of me when it happened. I went online and see now that this is an issue Subaru is having with 2026 Outbacks (many reported) even though Subaru of America and dealership said they had not heard of any complaints.

upper-torso pitch. This causes adult occupants' foreheads to strike the lower edge of the stowed sun visor, resulting in head impacts, neck strain, and concussion symptoms. A service representative at Capitol Subaru personally observed the hazard during intake. Subaru Quality Assurance inspected the vehicle but closed the file by relate it to quality issue as claiming no "part manufacturing defects" exist, while ignoring the negative physical clearance envelope as saftey issue. Subaru's recommended workaround - sliding the seat back and make seat lean backward - does not eliminate visor contact during forward torso pitch and severely compromises rear-cabin legroom, causing physical leg entrapment and impact injuries to rear passengers during this same deceleration event. On the driver side, sliding rearward prevents safe operational reach to the brake and accelerator pedals, even with these saftey issue highlighted to Subaru, they keep insist to slide seat back to clear the sunvisor even with been notified multiple times that doing so, the driver cannot press the pedal and sterring wheel or reach to the control panel.

this "option". Before I contacted the dealer I did look in the Subaru EyeSight Drivers Assist Technology Owners Manual. On pages 280 and 281 of this manual in the Cruise Control, Pre-curve Speed Control*, ON/OFF. The *note is "if equipped". My car is not equipped. I was not informed or cautioned about this when I went through the delivery process. I did not know I did not have this feature. My complaint is this. If the car is equipped to assist steering when in cruise control, for safety, all models should come standard with the Pre-curve Speed Control. It only takes one instant for a new driver to loose control if expecting this feature to be present. I am an experienced driver. I was able to take corrective action to avoid trouble. But, I did anticipate the car to slow and was startled when it did not.

truck, which appears to have been "lifted" rode over the top of my fender and both vehicles scraped down the left side of each other. I finally got the car stopped some distance beyond the truck. Both vehicles had to be towed away from the scene. My car is currently in the Caliber repair shop with nearly $23,000 damage. The Knox County Sheriff's office responded but they did not file a report as the incident took place on private property. Even so, the Deputy did interview both drivers and several witnesses in front of his body camera. I understand those videos are maintained at the Sheriff's office.

inspected by a Subaru dealership, who could not identify any issue. The dealer attempted to apply a software update to the EyeSight camera system that controls pre-collision braking, but was unable to apply the update. It is my belief that the camera-based EyeSight system interpreted rain on the windscreen as an obstacle and erroneously deployed pre-collision braking when there was no actual hazard ahead.

forehead to travel collide into the rigid, unyielding lower edge of the sun visor, which act as a hard/sharp parts cut the forehead and twisting the neck seriously. During a recent braking event, this lack of structural clearance caused a direct head-strike incident. The occupant's forehead collided with the sharp bottom edge of the visor, acting as a blunt knife edge that resulted in a laceration to the forehead and a hyper-extension strain injury to the neck. This is a critical design failure where occupant safety clearance envelope was poorly designed for this elevated fixed-seat configuration. In a high-speed collision, this layout poses an imminent risk of severe facial trauma, skull fractures, or catastrophic cervical spine injuries from the visor before the seatbelt pre-tensioner can fully lock. This requires immediate investigation and a mandatory safety recall to provide height-adjustable/lower seat frames to affected vehicles.

the only way to get it to cool is to drop it to the lowest cool setting ~60 degrees. I took it in 3 times to the dealer and they said they were unable to reproduce the issue, and while it has been intermittent, I was able to frequently reproduce the issue when it was cold outside, including yesterday, 04/19/26. It does not appear to happen when it's warm outside, although it hasn't been consistently warm to be able to conclude that at this point. What is certain is that the system does not appear to be functioning as designed (which is what both the dealer and Subaru of America (SoA) claim, SoA just restating the dealer's comments). Both LaFontaine Subaru of Commerce Township, Michigan and Subaru of America have at this point ignored the issue despite me bringing it up consistently.

was at the dealership no more than 15 to 20 minutes while they tried their equipment and I was told that it was not working and that I should come back at a later time. I think that they might be hiding something.

it's better but after driving it home it's not better by much. The service rep said this was becoming a common complaint with these Bridgestone tires. They told me Subaru is a where of the problem and they were expecting to see a TSB in the coming weeks. It's been almost a month now and no word yet about what Subaru is going to do about this issue